Page 26 of Close to My Heart

“Sutton. Be safe.”

“I will be.”

She would because I’d make sure of it. As soon as she hung up, I called my friend Max, who owned the bar she was at. “Hey, you at the bar tonight?”

“I am. Is there a problem?”

“Sutton is there with a date, and he’s getting pushy. He’s insisting on driving her home and won’t take no for an answer.”

The line was quiet for a few seconds, and I figured he was scanning the bar for Sutton. “I have eyes on her. You want me to give her a ride?”

“I’m on my way, but can you make sure she doesn’t leave with him, or that he doesn’t take her to a dark corner?”

“On it.”

“Thanks, Max. I appreciate it.”

“Hey.” His voice lowered. “When are you going to make this girl yours and stop rescuing her from other guys?”

My jaw tightened. “I have a plan.”

“It’s about time.” Then he said, “I’ve got her until you get here. Don’t break any speed limits.”

“I’m not making any promises,” I said as I clicked End to the conversation.

Sutton was going to marry some other guy, and I couldn’t handle it. My only option was to offer myself up for the role of fiancé. But I didn’t think she’d go for it.

By the time I got to the bar, my fingers ached from my tight grip on the steering wheel. I parked in the first spot I could find, then walked quickly to the bar where laughter and music spilled out when the door opened.

I waited for a crowd of drunken girls, probably a bachelorette party given the sashes around their shoulders, to stumble out before I stepped inside. Max stood at the counter, acting as sentry. He nodded toward the end of the bar.

Sutton sat on a bar stool with a man behind her, standing way too close.

“You ready to go?” I asked Sutton as soon as I was near.

The guy wore expensive clothes, perfectly tailored and pressed as if he’d just put them on for this date and hadn’t worn them to work all day. His eyes flashed with irritation. “Who are you?”

Sutton slipped off the stool and moved toward me. “I told you a friend was picking me up.”

“I thought you meant a girlfriend,” he sneered.

“Wes is my best friend,” Sutton said pointedly.

“You ready to go?” I asked her, every nerve in my body on high alert.

“So what? You’re just looking for some rich guy to save you from your grandmother’s will?”

“That’s not how it is. I’m offering you money to play the part.”

It physically hurt to hold myself out of the conversation. I knew Sutton wouldn’t like it if I came in too caveman, and I already felt hot. Like I could go off at any second.

“When can I see you again?”

“Listen, Harold, I don’t think this is going to work out.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Why not?”

“Honestly? You drink too much. I need someone I can depend on. Someone who doesn’t lose control.”

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